[Ian Milton]

Hi all,

I'm really impressed with how enthusiastic you enthusiasts are.
Nothing like being right into somthing.

Here is my scene perhaps you can offer some insight into the correct solution.

I don't need phones to listen to music cos I'm a speaker head but I do need to use them to watch movies late at night home cinema style. I have a pair of Jeklin Float Two headphones that I would like to get the best out of in this respect so am looking for an amp in the UK poss second hand for this duty. These may not be the best phones for home cinema - I bought them cos they communicated the musical message- so it may be I need to get another set for the job.

I suppose the main thing that I will need from the phones is the ability to do bass and keep things seperate in the mid band so that I can follow the dialogue easily. The source for all this will be a DVD player, the one I have at present has no phone output.
I thought perhaps electrostatics would be good as I heard some and they were very detailed in the voice area but probably incapable of explosions etc.

Whats your best shot lads?

I am in the UK.

 

[andrzejpw]

hmm, maybe you should post this in the amplifier forum? More people look there.

 

[eric343]

Wrong forum! Try Amps & Electronics; this question isn't related to HeadRoom or their products. (unless it's a request for them to make a Float amp)

 

[Ian Milton]

Opps sorry,

My first attempt at this sort of thing, where is the amps forum?

Duuu...

Ian.

 

[Duncan]

2nd hand, and in the UK... Erm?

So, what do the Jecklins normally sound like? - Are they going to need to be massively boosted in the bass to have the sound you need?

and... what kind of budget are you looking at?

...My 'main rig' below (at least the amp & Headphones) has thunderous bass (especially since my op-amp transplant)... both combined are about £220... and, vocals are sublime, one of the strongest point of this particular pair of sonys...

(not that that has any relevance... lol)

Thanks

 

[Ian Milton]

Thanks Duncan,

I'm not sure what the Jeklins "sound" like. When I bought them I paid £100 for them because they sounded very natural compaired to the less expensive ones. I bought them from the main Linn dealer in Glasgow and they know a bit about tunes there. Compaired to phones like the sennhiser 580s they are more mid band orientated, and they don't have that unrealistic "Puffy" sort of bass and soft treble I heard on the other designs. They actually don't have that "headphone sound". When you listen to anything to them you immediately forget you have a device on your head and you focus in on the program whatever it may be. Most phones I have heard have a recessed mid that makes them sound like a seventies amp with the loudness switch engaged. I'd say they were very detailed without the capital D, so the whole sound is very integrated and you get involved with the musical communication. You also appear to be very close and intimate with the performers. Does that answer your question.

They look very wierd though not like normal phones with ear cups.

I am pretty happy with them, the main reason I need an amp is because my equipment does not have a phone outputs so I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone upgrading the sound while making them more connectable.

I am not that bothered about price but would not go over £200 on an amp. I have heard the Reg ear is good and the Creek as well as the MF x cans and what about the naim unit?

I guess what I am really after is an amp that will simply upgrade substantially what I have without affecting their character.

What do you think?

 

[Duncan]

Ian,

Your description of the Jecklins sounds like my impression of the Sony MDR-F1s that I own... I would ignore tube amps if I were you, you'd drown in the midrange!!

Solid state, the Creek is reported to be pretty good, but on the flipside, if you're into DIY... or want to employ the services of one of the four or five amp builders we have here, the META42 is reported to sound cleaner, and punchier than the Creek

Both will be within your £200 limit to a point... depending what you want from the META, it can extend to about £350 for a full blown, all bells and whistles version... my own (portable) version cost less than half of that... its your call

 

[Ian Milton]

[Thanks for the advice on the valves.

When You say "one of the four or five amp builders we have here"
is here the UK?

What do you loose out on sound wise when you go for portability and are portable units battery operated?

Who makes the META and why did you decide to go for it yourself, whats your listening style criteria etc?

I am also into speed when it comes to listening to reproduced sound preferring efficient paper coned drive units in speakers, are some phone amps faster and more imediate than others - I always feel that this quality brings through the tension and drama in a piece of music?

What are the bells and whistles you refer to, I don't really like a lot of additional clanging and whistling while listening.

If I decide to buy second hand - where in the UK do you recon is the best place to look for phon amps?

Hey thanks for taking my query up.

Ian.

 

[Duncan]

Quote:

When You say "one of the four or five amp builders we have here" is here the UK?

No ~ On Head-Fi... all of the people so far are in the US... but, you can buy the parts yourself (they're all listed somewhere, which eludes me at the moment) and mount them on a breadboard (I think i've got the name right)... probably no more than £90~100 for parts..

Quote:

What do you loose out on sound wise when you go for portability and are portable units battery operated?

Soundwise, I honestly can't comment not having a standalone, and a mains operated META... maybe someone else can, the only obvious loss between the two is the price of PP3 batteries

Quote:

Who makes the META and why did you decide to go for it yourself, whats your listening style criteria etc?

On the boards at the moment, members Tangent, JMT, and Eric343 build Meta amps... my listening style is as varied as can be... from classical to trance ~ and the META doesn't fail to please

Quote:

I am also into speed when it comes to listening to reproduced sound preferring efficient paper coned drive units in speakers, are some phone amps faster and more imediate than others - I always feel that this quality brings through the tension and drama in a piece of music?

I personally think (although this could open up a can of worms with the other viewers of THIS forum) that valve based amps slow the music down, make it lazy sounding... and one thing that solid state is good for (at least in the META configuration) is... speed

Quote:

What are the bells and whistles you refer to, I don't really like a lot of additional clanging and whistling while listening.

I used that phrase in the context of the META42... and it simply refers to the fact that the META is highly upgradeable... but obviously at a cost... you need to speak (email / PM) one of the three people I mentioned earlier with what kind of sound / price range / quality you're after and they should be able to give you a quote from there (probably be a good idea to include the specs of the Jecklins because they're only rarely mentioned here and the amp may be misconfigured)

Quote:

If I decide to buy second hand - where in the UK do you recon is the best place to look for phon amps?

That is something I don't really know... maybe Stone Audio do, apart from that somewhere like EBay...

Quote:

Hey thanks for taking my query up.

No problem